Competition on for Alabama's Best Barbecue

People can go to Facebook and start voting on Alabama's best barbecue restaurant.

The Alabama Tourism Department is sponsoring the competition as part of its Year of Alabama Food. State Tourism Director Lee Sentell says barbecue is part of Alabama's heritage, and there has always been a debate about which restaurant is best.

The competition is in brackets like the NCAA basketball tournament and 32 restaurants are starting. Voting starts Monday, and voting in each bracket lasts for three days. Voting for restaurants in the Final Four will be April 1-5.

Sentell says the winning restaurant will be announced April 8, which is the same day as the NCAA's men's basketball championship.